Number of children suffering from depression soaring

New data shows that the number of children suffering from depression is soaring, according to news.sky.com.

The National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) claims that 80,000 children in the UK are now suffering from the condition. It states that around 8,000 of these are below the age of ten also.

The organisation has recommended that schools and doctors need to do more to counter-act the problem. This includes making sure that children who are suffering with depression are found early and giving youngsters information that they can digest.

GPs and teachers may also want to offer kids who are suffering a counselling course to provide further help, or even organise a support group.

Talking about the issue, Lucie Russell, director of campaigns for mental health charity Young Minds, told telegraph.co.uk: "Modern childhood has become really stressful: there are family breakdowns, increasing pressure from school with testing from a very early age, and then the really significant factor in recent years is social media."

Gemma Trainor, nurse consultant, Greater Manchester West Foundation Mental Health Trust, added: "I have over 30 years of direct clinical experience of children and young people presenting with symptoms of depression. In that time, there have been many changes and trends; over the past ten years, the increase of primary school-age children presenting with depression is a particularly worrying phenomena."